


Cutscene

by Cr0wsnest



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angel is mentioned, Angst, Blood and Injury, Character Death, Hurt No Comfort, I reread through this like twice hopefully I caught any mistakes, Jack is back Baby, Major Character Injury, Other, References to Canon, no happy ending, title based on Zer0’s hidden line in Borderlands 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:48:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29808639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cr0wsnest/pseuds/Cr0wsnest
Summary: Handsome Jack is back. This time he wants Atlas, but most importantly- he wants his revenge.
Relationships: Rhys/Zer0 (Borderlands)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Cutscene

Rhys didn't crush the core. He should have. Reservations about the decisions swirled around his mind. Maybe, just maybe, Jack could reform- become a better person. His head was spinning from the lack of blood, the socket where his arm used to be seared with pain. 

He passed out amongst the remains of Helios.

Years later, he had finally made it. Maybe not exactly how he planned to, but he was there. CEO of his own corporation, top of the ladder with no one to tell him what to do. 

It was new, exciting. However, it got lonely. He knew how it worked at Hyperion. People stepped on others to get to the top, destroying friendships along the ways. He tried not to do that. In fact, he’d like to think he was much better at not doing so than any other CEO. He kept his friend as close as he could with all the work he had on his plate. 

He went out for lunch with Yvette every other Tuesday at the very least. Vaughn, even before he got over his bandit phase, visited often. Much to Rhys’ dismay, he always showed up in his underwear and cape, they had to force clothes onto him the first year or two. Fiona was a real, true vault hunter now, whenever she needed specific intel she’d call and check up on him. Sasha? Well, they hadn’t spoken in a few months, but last time he heard she moved to a much nicer planet than Pandora and opened her own little shop there.

Then… Zer0…

He would never claim to know how he got so lucky. Maybe it was just years of life wasted on Helios working a glamourized desk job and the nightmare on Pandora that karma had finally decided he deserved something good.

Whenever he had first started Atlas back up, he knew that it was going to get dangerous. A lot of people would want him dead. As the company grew to almost where it was before its fall, he was proven correct. He was almost assassinated. The only reason he survived Loader Bot coincidentally walking in front of him at the exact right moment.

Rhys sat in bed that night. Not only contemplating his mortality, but also what would happen if there were to be another attempt at his life. He needed a bodyguard. 

Then he got the brilliant idea to hire Zer0.

Sure, it was a lot of money. He had to build the company up for another few months just to make sure he could afford to even  _ attempt  _ the proposition. They weren’t the easiest to find either. 

He sent scouts to search for any lead as to where they would be. They eventually found a lead. Rhys traveled to a planet called Athenas, where Zer0 had been spotted fairly often. It was a gorgeous planet- calm and quiet. Maybe he could take a vacation here some time in the future. He walked around aimlessly for a while, enjoying the scenery, before being stopped by a woman in the town plaza.

“You look lost. Do you need help?”

He turned his attention to her and his eyes widened, “Yo- You’re Maya.” He fidgeted with his hands. 

“Yup. That’s me.” She smiled, “You gotta name?”

“Rhys! Ah- Ahem. I’m Rhys Strongfork. I run- I run Atlas.” 

“Woah, Atlas? Geez. What brings you here then, Big Timer?”

“I’m looking for Zer0 actually. I- Uh, heard they visit here a lot. Guess I know why now.”

She looked him over with a scrutinizing eye and he could feel the judgement rolling off of her in waves. 

“Well, you don’t seem  _ too _ dangerous. Lucky you got here when you did though. H-Eaaauugh…” She cleared her throat. “ _ They’re _ supposed to be heading out tomorrow. Follow me.”

She asked him all kinds of questions on the way. What made him wanna run Atlas? Why Promethea? What was up with the half pinstripe pants? Why did he want to see Zer0?

So, he told her. Maybe being honest hadn’t gotten him in many good situations, but he felt like he genuinely could tell her. 

“An assassin to stop other assassins, huh? I mean, that could work. I think I remember them telling me about The Traveler fight too. You’ve got that on your side.”

They came to a stop in front of a waterfall. Maya stepped across a stream, using the rocks as a natural bridge. 

“Watch your step. Come on in.”

“Uh… Not sure my arm is gonna like this, buuuut-“

He stepped towards the wall of water, the mist spraying in his face. Maya’s eyes widened and she yanked him back. She laughed and stabilized him from falling into the stream behind him.

“I… I love that you're so determined to see ZeeZee, but we go BEHIND the water, not through it.”

His face went red, “A-Ah… Yeah. That- That’s a better way…”

The cave behind the falls was dimly lit with candles, shadows flickered across the walls. The ground was drier than he expected, only damp for a few yards before intricately designed rugs covered the rock. 

Rhys jumped slightly when the siren started whistling a tune. He tried to play it off by saying he almost slipped. Then, they reached the end of the cave. 

They reached Zer0.

They seemed to be meditating, sitting down cross-legged on an obscenely large pillow. It was hard to tell if they noticed the two walking in for their mask, which was completely blank. However, seconds later a question mark appeared on it as they tilted their head and stood.

“Rhys?”

He could still remember his legs turning to jelly from the way they said his name- the way they remembered him. Granted, he had probably done something really dumb in front of them and  _ that  _ was why they remembered, but he’d repressed the event if that was the case.

Zer0 accepted his proposal with little to no questions, to his surprise  _ and _ Maya’s.

They returned to Promethea with him. The whole way there Rhys could feel his heart threatening to beat out of his chest. He was sitting next to one of the people(?) he admired most and they were going to be working for him?  _ With _ him? He expected to wake up from this dream at any second. 

As months passed, he stopped idolizing them as much. He still thought they were  _ really _ cool, but as he got to know them he realized they weren’t just a ‘gunhand looking for odd jobs and assassinations.’ They were actually just as much, well maybe half as much, of a dork as he was. 

They basically adopted Gortys, much to her excitement, absolutely killed at first person shooter games, and apparently they absolutely despised the feeling of crushed velvet to the point they would get all twitchy even despite their gloves.

That little celebrity crush Rhys had turned into a holy-crap-I-might-actually-be-in-love-with-you crush. 

And eventually, it turned into an ‘I love you too.’

Back to the AI though. 

Rhys had thought about destroying it many times. He kept it locked up behind three metal doors and a chest with a retinal scanner. He tried to keep it a complete secret, but he had to tell Zer0, as his hired head of security.

When he first told them, they were obviously upset that he didn’t destroy it in the first place. Which was fair. Jack had already caused them enough trouble for a lifetime and they’d already killed him once before. If anything happened, they would begrudgingly deal with him. They didn't understand why Rhys would not destroy the core, but that wasn’t to say they didn’t support him.

“It is your choice, Rhys. I won't sway you. However-

You know he’s trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know… I just… No one can get in there. He’ll be fine rotting for all eternity, right.”

“As he deserves.”

Rhys smiled and nodded, “As he deserves. Now, come on! We have so much left over pizza to eat!”

He threw an arm around their waist and pulled them back to his loft.

  
  
  
  


Zer0 was out on another mission, off planet, when the explosions started. The whole building shook and it wasn’t long before Lorelei ran in, gun in hand.

“Rhys! We’re under attack!”

“Uh, yeah! I felt that! Who is it?!”

“Hyperion! It looks like they’ve been planning this for a while! We’re getting overwhelmed and it's only been minutes!”

“ _ Blake _ ? Why would he- Ugh! I’m calling Zer0, try to get everyone evacuated in the meantime!”

The building shook again, dust shook from the ceiling. He decided to call on the way out. The moment they picked up, he was talking.

“We’re under attack! I’m not sure if you’re real busy right now, but I- we could definitely use you right now!”

“Who is attacking?” There were gunshots in the distance, but they seemed to be safe and behind cover.

“Hyperion! I thought we were good after that deal we made, but apparently not!” He looked out the window to the chaos below, “That… That’s a lot of robots…”

“Be there as soon as I can. Escape the planet.”

“What? What about my employees?!”

Zer0 clearly wasn’t happy with that response. “You’re the CEO. Priority is your safety. You need to leave now.”

“I… Okay, but first-“ 

“Rhys, no-“ 

The connection was cut off as a piece of the ceiling crashed onto the floor next to him. 

“Shit! Z, are you still there? Damn it!” 

He stumbled down many flights of stairs. Once and a while he’d stop to make sure everyone was evacuated, only finding a few stray souls amongst the long hallways. It was when he got to the courtyard that he knew he was in trouble. 

He walked straight into the sights of about ten loader bots plus a few engineers. As quickly as he could, he dodged to the side, hiding behind a barrier. Gunshots ripped through the air and past his head, one slightly grazing his arm. His ECHO was completely disconnected, he couldn’t even call for help. He could make a break for it, but the chance he would get torn to pieces by bullets was too high for comfort. Was there any other escape option?

Then he heard his voice.

A cocky, arrogant voice that shot dread right into his stomach. Rhys didn’t look, he didn’t respond. It wasn’t fight or flight, it was freezing up like you were at the wrong end of a gun. Which, technically, he was. 

“I gotta admit, Kiddo, I did plan on just killing you, but  _ this _ ? You run Atlas? Who would’ve thunk, huh? With  _ your _ track record of screwing everything up it's a goddamn  _ miracle _ .” 

The gunfire had long since stopped. Still, he didn’t move. He felt like he could curl in on himself and never get up again. Footsteps clicked towards him until they were right behind, stopping at the barrier. 

“Hey, dumdum? C’mon, don’t be like that, look at your ole’ pal Jack would ya?”

Slowly, he raised his head, looking towards the sky. There he was, back in the flesh, Handsome Jack. His jaw clenched.

“Aww, you’re so happy to see me. Of course you are! Aren’t you gonna ask me how I’m here though? It’s a great story, trust me!” 

“H- Yo- You should be-...”

“I should be locked up?” He laughed. “Well, I won’t reveal all of my  _ ingenious _ ways, but thank the heavens for body doubles, amirite?”

Rhys was about to make a run for it, bullets be damned, before he was yanked up by his arm. 

“Let- Let go of me!” 

Jack mocked him, “I don’t think so, Cupcake. You’re comin’ with me.”

“Rhys!” Lorelei’s voice. He heard gunshots blasting towards them. Jack sighed, pulling the pistol from his belt and took one shot back. That was all that he needed. Lorelei’s hand flew to their thigh and they fell to the ground in pain.

“No!” He tried to run over to them, only to be pulled back by his shirt.

“No time for consoling. We have work to do.” He turned to the small army that was there with him, “Do whatever with the prisoners. I honestly don’t give a damn.”

Rhys was dragged to a warehouse not too far away from the main city that they had long abandoned due to the ratch infestation. Apparently Hyperion had cleared it out just before the attack, the remains of the pests scattered throughout the halls. 

“Now, Rhysie, we are gonna talk.” Jack shoved him into the floor. “I am back, better than ever, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. 21-C really held out for me, though I did have to fix the mask.”

“What’s your plan? You think everyone is just going to welcome you back with open arms?” He sounded more confident than he actually was.

“Of course not! Why do you think I have an  _ army _ , idiot? You, however, are gonna have to, or all of  _ this _ ,” Jack pointed up, making a circular motion with his finger, “Atlas stuff, is going to be just another ancient burial ground. If you’re good, I'll let you and all your little friends live.”

“That’s a lie, I know it is.”

Jack was silent for a few moments before he barked out a laugh, slapping a hand onto Rhys’ shoulder, “HA! You got me! It completely is! Good job with that! You’re all gonna get picked off one by one.”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out what seemed to be a photograph, Rhys couldn’t tell exactly from the position he was in. Jack stared at it, the determination clear on his face. 

“Listen, I know we’ve had our differences-“

“I won't help you, Jack.” 

He chuckled, “While it's cute that you think you have a choice, you don’t. I already have a particular few bandits in mind, whether you work with me or not to kill them, that’s your choice, but know that if you don’t-“ Jack sighed and tucked the picture back into place, “Well, if you don’t then the people after that will just get more and more excruciating deaths. Capeesh?”

“No! I told you, I’m not helping!”

“Mhmm. We’ll see about that, Cupcake.” He turned to the guard at the door, “Destroy Atlas headquarters. I want every bomb in the arsenal on it.”

“You can't-!” 

“Ohoho, but that’s the thing! I can! I’m gonna make you watch all of the things you worked so hard for to crumble to dust or bled out before you and  _ I _ am going to enjoy every damn second. You thought you could destroy Helios and get away with it?”

Rhys tried to get out of the wrist bindings he had been put in on the way, but to no avail. The material was already rubbing his skin raw, he had to find another way. Maybe he could find something sharp and cut his way out. He just knew the occasional zap of electricity from it wasn’t making them anymore comfortable.

A few minutes later a deep rumble in the distance interrupted his thoughts. Jack let out a laugh, gazing out the window across the room. Dust and debris spattered against the glass as the building shook.

“Wow, would you look at that? Now my kill count is almost as high as yours! Maybe. Actually, I wouldn't bet on it. Say, did that building of yours have any escape pods?”

Rhys didn't say anything. He felt like he might vomit if he even attempted to open his mouth. Everything he had worked for for almost a decade was gone. For a split second, he regretted not working with Jack.

“Alright, let’s see, let’s see.” Jack pulled up his ECHO from his wrist, “Where are those child-killing bastards?”

He froze. He realized now that Jack wasn’t just here for him. Rhys had heard the stories in all different forms. From Hyperion employees, from untrustworthy news reporters, but most importantly from Zer0 themself. 

They had killed Jack’s daughter. 

News outlets called it a heartless display of pure evil. The murder of an innocent girl. Zer0 agreed with one of those statements. Rhys never tried to push the story out of them, but one night it just happened. 

Zer0 said they had tried to find any other way to stop the catalyst. Their original idea was to acquire a steady supply of liquid eridium and wane Angel off of it. To do so, of course, the group would have had to destroy the machines and immediately transfer Angel to a secure location. It wouldn't have been easy, but they had suggested it to Axton, who later brought it up to the whole group.

Lilith said it was pointless. That they wouldn't have time.

Rhys remembered Zer0 saying that the only life threatening injury they acquired from that day was because they hesitated. They had their gun pointed right at the eridium supply line and they kept telling themself it was wrong, there was another way. A loader shot them clean through the shoulder resulting in them eventually having to get a metal ball joint replacement.

However, Angel was persistent. She begged, screaming at them to take the shot. She made them all promise to kill her father after she was gone. They destroyed the pipes, ultimately killing Angel. 

From what Rhys had seen, how Zer0 acted when they so rarely spoke of the incident, they deeply regretted not trying harder for another solution. 

He began to panic, inching closer to the desk while Jack was distracted. There was a sharp edge on the side that maybe, just maybe, he could cut his restraints with. He sucked a breath in when he accidentally sliced his hand, but he kept trying.

“Hello, Bandits! It’s your buddy Jack! Long time no see! It's been awhile and I have been  _ busy _ , let me tell ya! You know, since you assholes killed me.” He spoke into his communicator. “I’m having a blast here on Promethea. Plenty of employees to kill, chief executive officers to torture, that kinda thing. I’m sure y’all know a lot more about that than me though, right? Anyway, I want you all to scurry your little good-for-nothing asses over here for a rematch! Then no one else, besides you, will need to die. See ya soon.”

The bindings on Rhys’ wrists were finally cut through. He played it off, acting like they were still holding him. Now he just needed Jack to come over to him.

“What do you want with Atlas?”

“Well, I have Hyperion back already. What more could I want but the whole universe?” He glanced towards Rhys, “What do you say you transfer Atlas over to me, huh? Or- Ha- What’s left of it! You’re not gonna be alive long to take care of the remains.”

Rhys wanted to squirm, but he kept his posture, “Why would I do that if you’re going to kill me either way?”

“Becaaaause…” Jack bit his lip in thought, only to smile at him seconds later, “I will let your  _ partner _ live.” 

His heart dropped. Of course Jack would know. Why wouldn't he?

“Ah-ha-ha! Struck a nerve with that didn’t I? Gotta say, you have horrible taste. You run a whole company, could have any  _ human _ you want and you choose this weirdo who never shows their face? Gotta be a bummer for your sex life, not that I thought you were capable of one to begin with. Whata- What about that Sasha chick? Hell, even Fiona would have been preferable despite that attitude she has.”

He just furrowed his eyebrows and glared at the floor.

“Oh, come on! I’m jokin’! Jo-king!” He exhaled, “Totallynot… Anywho- Tik tok, Rhysie, time is of the essence. Yes or no? Would you like your lover  _ spared _ or not?”

“You’re lying…” 

Jack sighed, “Okay, maybe I was lying that one time, but listen, what if I’m  _ not _ ?”

That was a very,  _ very _ slim probability and Rhys knew it. If he had a chance, if he knew that Jack would keep his word, then maybe he would consider accepting. At this point though, he’d like to believe he knew Jack well enough. He’d never keep that promise, he was too hellbent on revenge to do so.

Jack made his way over, squatting down to his level, “Maybe I’ll let you both live. Send you off to some satellite far enough away that I’ll never have to see you and you’ll never have to see me. Sounds great, right?”

Now was his chance. He quickly reached for the pistol on Jack’s hip, grabbing it and kicking the other man away. Jack fell backwards with a pained grunt. Rhys held the gun firmly in his prosthetic hand, pointing it right between Jack’s eyes.

Jack grinned, “Wow. Congrats. You’re so amazing. You know how to shoot that thing, Pumpkin?”

“Ye-“ Rhys’ eyes widened as he felt the wires in his arm seize. It twitched, slowly moving against him while Jack laughed.

“Did you really think you could get away with that?”

He tried to fight it. He tried to push it back down with his other arm, but it was no good. He involuntarily raised the gun towards his own temple.

“How are you still doing this?!”

Jack pushed himself back onto his feet, dusting himself off, “Oh, come on. It’s easy!” He grabbed the pistol from Rhys’ hand. “You’re just my bitch.”

Rhys stared at him wide eyed before the cold metal of his own hand came crashing against his face. He fell to the floor. Blood dripped from his mouth, but he couldn’t find it in myself to wipe it away. 

“Now that the obligatory ‘try-to-beat-me-and-fail’ thing is over, why don’t we just sit back, relax, and wait for those bandits to get here. Huh, Kid?” 

Neither of them said anything more. Rhys soaked in the dread of what was to come.

  
  


Not even an hour later they heard gunshots outside. Screaming, yelling, explosions that Rhys would never get used to. One of Jack’s foot soldiers burst in. 

“The bandits are here!” 

“Ah, good! Good!” He picked his pistol back up and shot the guard in the forehead, blood spattered across the door. “Knock next time.”

Rhys could only watch in horror as he walked over. Jack yanked him up, pushing him towards the door. “To the loading area. Now.”

The loading bay was huge. Empty from being abandoned, but now occupied with so many Hyperion soldiers that Rhys didn’t think he could count them all. They were leaned against the walls or on the catwalks above, all of their eyes were fixated on him. 

A soldier padded up to them carefully, her voice shaking, “Handsome Jack, Sir, the vault hunters are overwhelmed, but still fighting. The tall one seems to be ignoring their group's instructions to stay together. They’re trying to get in.” 

“Good. Let them.”

Rhys stared at the woman, a pathetic ‘please-don’t-do-this’ look. 

“I- What? Let them?”

“YES! LET. THEM. Are you deaf?!”

She flinched and nodded, then walked away. 

“Jack… You don’t have to do this…” 

“You thought through that  _ sweet _ deal I made you yet? Gotta say, not one of my best, but it is up there.” 

“You’re lying to me.”

“Whatever you say. Just know their blood is on your hands when I kill them.” 

He pushed Rhys back into the hands of two particularly armored guards. They stared down at him with what could either be pity or pure disgust. The gunshots outside had never stopped. 

One of the loading bay doors burst open in an explosion. Dust and metal flung across the room. Rhys coughed, trying to cover the mouth and nose so as to not breathe any of it in, but the guards still held him firm.

He heard a man’s voice scream from outside, not being able to tell if the man was more worried or agitated. When Rhys’ opened his eyes he saw the exact person he was both wanting and dreading to see. All of the workers and bots held their weapons steady, sights aimed at Zer0. 

“ _ You _ . You son of a BITCH!” Jack pulled the pistol from his belt, firing haphazardly at the assassin. They quickly dodged, mostly ignoring him in favor of getting to Rhys. 

“You have to get out of here, he’ll kill you!” He cried.

Zer0 sliced one of the guards in half, their torso sliding to the floor. They reached out. “Rhys!” 

They were too focused on him. A loader bot came up from behind, swinging its arm and smacking them across the room. They felt their ribs crack at the impact, the slam against the wall was just an insult to injury. 

“ZER0!” Rhys screamed.

Still, they had something to fight for.  _ Someone _ to fight for. They rose quickly, activating decepti0n. 

“GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT ME! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY ANGEL!”

Rhys scanned around the room, looking for any opportunity that he or his assassin could use. The ducts were all secure, they wouldn't be falling onto anyone. The loader bots couldn’t be hacked, Jack had made sure of that. He couldn’t see anything useful. Jack was volatile right now and a single wrong move could get them all killed.

A loud bang. He heard Jack groan in pain. Jack’s hand went to his side, coming back red with blood, “I-“ He chuckled, “I have had about  _ enough _ of you!” He called for everyone besides the guards holding Rhys. “Bring me the bandit.” The loader bots, engineers, foot soldiers, were all allowed to attack them at once.

There was finally an opening- an older model Hyperion gun that one of the engineers had. Rhys hacked it at fast as he possibly could, getting in in mere seconds. He activated the shock, overloading it and zapping the owner with a powerful jolt. Their finger seized on the trigger, locking down and spraying bullets in random directions. Zer0 managed to dodge the bullets from it, but several Hyperion soldiers were caught right in the line of fire. Rhys kept at it, planning on keeping the gun firing until it was out of ammo or it killed its owner, whichever came first. 

Until there was a sharp pain in the side of his head and he was suddenly falling onto his side.

“Think I’ve forgotten what you did to Wallet-Head? Watch it, Cupcake. Or I’ll be pulling that pretty little eye of yours out of your skull myself.” Jack sneered.

Rhys' could barely see what was happening anymore. His vision blurred from hitting his head on the stone floor. All he knew was he heard a loader bot’s synthetic voice, and he saw Jack grin when he looked in its direction.

He murmured some incomprehensible sentences as he tried to get up. To follow Jack, to stop him, what was he trying to do he didn't even know himself. He just knew he had to try something.

Then his eyes cleared, a splitting headache still pounding in his head, and he knew it was too late.

A loader bot gripped Zer0 tightly in its metal hands, there was no escape. It had caught their arms by their sides, they couldn’t even digistruct their sword. 

“I have caught the bug. Now for the squash.” The bot said in its monotone voice. It tightened its grip on the assassin. They let out a yelp of pain as several of their bones cracked between the pressure.

“That’s enough. Drop it.” All the emotion was gone from Jack’s voice. Blood still saturated the fabric covering his side, but he seemed to brush off the pain.

They were dropped to the ground. Again, they tried to get up. This time they were battered and bruised, much slower than before. Several gunshot wounds made sure of it.

“I have been waiting for this one. You’re little pals could wait, but  _ you- _ the one who pulled the  _ trigger… _ Oh, I’m gonna enjoy this you son of a bitch.” 

“Alright.” Zer0 croaked, “That is fair.”

He grabbed them by the neck and yanked them up, pinning them to a wall. Rhys struggled, shouting at Jack to stop. 

“Jack, I'll give you Atlas! Whatever you wanted the whole company! There- There’s a vault! Under the city! It’s all yours! Please!” 

His words fell to deaf ears.

Jack’s hand tightened around Zer0’s throat, “Any last words?”

They were silent, the words heavy on their tongue. They could still feel the regret as powerful as it was when it had first happened, “I did not want to kill her.” 

His grip loosened slightly before he squeezed, this time harder than before. Zer0 struggled to get any air into their lungs. 

Rhys pulled at his shackles, “I should have destroyed you, you bastard! Let them go! I will kill you!” The guards yanked him backwards. 

“SHUT UP! AAUGH- JUST-“ He threw Zer0 to the ground, shoving his heel into their stomach to pin them. He took deep breaths looking at Rhys, waving the pistol at the soldiers holding him. “Make sure that  _ idiot _ watches.”

The guards pulled Rhys’ head up by his hair, another hand holding his jaw and holding him in place. He’d resorted to begging. Desperate pleas and promises to follow any order given as long as Zer0 would be let go.

It didn’t work.

Zer0 turned their head to look at them, not being able to move anything else. Pixels scattered around them as they tried to get away, but to no avail. Still feeling the burn of suffocation in their throat, they knew they couldn’t speak. Instead, they settled with flashing a heart over the surface of their mask.

Jack turned his focus back to the vault hunter beneath them, pointing the gun directly at their chest, “Here’s the difference between you and me,  _ Kid _ . YOU are gonna  _ stay _ .  _ Dead _ .” 

He pulled the trigger. Again and again and again.

The heart flickered away slowly. Rhys didn't scream. He waited. The rise and fall of Zer0’s chest had stopped. He waited for them to disappear- to reappear somewhere else and kill Jack once and for all. 

“Zer0?..”

They never did.

Jack leaned down, covering his hand in the assassins blood, then walked over to Rhys, but not before kicking their corpse.

“I told you all I was the hero. The hero always comes back, Rhysie.” He gripped Rhys’s face, laughing and smearing the blood all over him. Rhys clenched his jaw, feeling as though he was going to be sick. That wasn’t- it couldn’t be. 

Jack motioned for the guards to let him stand, warning him not to do anything stupid. It took less than a minute. As soon as Rhys was up, he elbowed one of the guards, kicked the other in the shin, and ran to where Zer0 lay.

Jack just sighed. 

He fell to his knees at their side, his voice barely a whisper, “Z?.. Y- You can’t… You can get up now, you tricked him… You- You can-...”

  
  


Rhys gently reached out, tilting their head towards him. Their chest was completely still and their mask dark. There was no breathing. More tears spilled from his eyes, hot and burning. He took their hand.

“Please… O- Oh, God… Please…” He whimpered.

“ _ PLEASE _ !~” Jack mocked, his voice a whining tone, “Just shut! Up! That  _ murderer _ is  _ dead _ . I made you watch for cryin’ out loud! Chop chop, Pumpkin! I've still got bandits to kill!

Rhys didn't move. He held on to them as tight as he could. 

“HEY! I said-'' Jack grabbed him by the arm and yanked him up. A scream ripped from Rhys’ throat. Telling Jack to let him go, flailing his arms and hitting Jack straight in the face with the cold metal of his prosthetic.

“Ah!- You little… COME  _ ON _ . Loader bots! Take him upstairs and lock him up.”

One of the large robots picked him up, holding him in a bruising grip. He kicked and screamed, hurting himself in the process. He tasted blood, his throat hurt, but he didn’t stop. He needed to be with Zer0. He needed to hold them. He needed them to be okay. 

For them to be alive.

The other vault hunters entered the warehouse, but he couldn’t bring himself to care right now. He couldn’t help. He had tried to and look at what had happened. If he got Zer0 killed, what help could he possibly offer? Jack was right about him after all.

He let himself be carried out of the room.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Ouch. Okay. Sorry that took so long. I was gonna wait until another author posted something in the tag so it wasn’t all me in the recents. :’) 
> 
> Twit: Ash_alert


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